Happy Monday everyone!  We spent the weekend working outdoors on our patio, more to come on that project later this week.   Meanwhile, I thought I’d offer up my very best tips for thrifting, plus a peek at my latest thrift store before and after. 

There are plenty of people who don’t care to shop thrift stores.  Perhaps they dislike or are afraid of used goods, or their local thrift stores carry nothing but useless junk.  I’ve seen my share of thrift stores that carried mostly unusable items, but I’ve also scored a few finds in thrift stores that could be resold for hundreds of dollars.  It all depends on the particular store, they’re all so very different.  I’m asked now and then for my best advice on thrifting, so I thought it time to put them all in one place!

Here are a few of my tips for shopping thrift stores:

Stay Focused.   When you find a great thrift store, it’s like shopping in any second hand forum.  Your visit can quickly turn into ”Hey that’s cute” or “Oooh, I like that too!” and before you know it, your tab has climbed higher than you planned, and you’ve brought home things you don’t really need.  Before you walk through the door, remember what you’re there for.  Stay focused on your needs and your budget.    

Know The Sales Days.  Find out when your local store has sales and show up early.  My local St. Vincent de Paul has furniture sales when they have too much in stock (typically after a big donation weekend) so I’m in the habit of stopping in every Monday or Tuesday to see what’s new.  My mom loves to shop at the Goodwill on Tuesdays when anyone over 55 gets a 25% discount.  She’s found so many designer labels and even items that are brand new and have never been worn, you just never know what you’ll find!  It pays to know when your local store offers discounts. 

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It’s not Thanksgiving, it’s Cinco de Mayo, but today I am thankful for a few things, and I thought you should know.   

I am thankful for my five year old boy, because only he can explain to me the significance of the pink ninja hostage situation happening atop this Jenga skyscraper.

I am thankful for oranges because they look pretty on trees, and they are a key ingredient in one of my favorite cakes. You can find my recipe for orange cake in The Lettered Cottage E-zine, including the easy trick for making those fancy shmancy curls with orange peels.  

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Another email from a reader landed in my inbox on a subject I think we all feel from time to time. 

Hey Kate, I’ve been in a slump lately, feeling overwhelmed and not at my creative best.  Wondering do you ever feel this way?  Where do you go to get inspired?  ~ Shannon

Hey Shannon, yep I go through those ‘dry spells’ too, usually when I’m tired, stretched too thin, and pulled in too many directions.  We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with images and information, where distraction is inevitable and focus becomes difficult.  Also, we all have responsibilities that can keep us from a few hours of creative time.  Everyone goes through creative slumps, but no worries.  I have a few tricks I use to get inspired, then it’s always back to the drawing board. 

Here are a few of my favorite ways to kick start creativity again: 

Visit Etsy and/or Big Cartel.  I am always amazed at the skills of the artisans in these two forums for handmade goods.  An afternoon spent browsing the designs on Etsy or Big Cartel is sure to inspire you, and also introduce you to a few designers that will quickly become favorites.  

Clay flowers by St Jude Creations; Love Birds by Vintage Green Limited; Cake Stands by High Tea for Alice.

Pinterest.   Are you a Pinhead?  I am!  Last year, I heard about this site through a few blogs, so I sent my request for an invitation.   Months went by and I hadn’t heard from them, and I was completely bitter that my request for an ‘invitation’ wasn’t accepted, and I began to feel inadequate.  What’s wrong, why not me?  Then I did a search of my inbox.  Hello?  It was sitting right there. 

Pinterest is an image driven virtual pinboard where you can mix and mingle with like minded peeps by following them, and also ‘pin’ your favorite ideas.  There are a lot of sites out there that can be time sucks, but this one happens to be a favorite place of mine to spend 5 or 10 minutes a day.  Someday, I’ll figure out a way to catalog my favorites on my own site, but for now, Pinterest is the place to be!  

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The other day a series of tweets went around on a very serious subject, one that is near and dear to my heart.  There is a dangerous illness sweeping the nation, and it is a grave problem.  I’m warning you, if you ever get bit by this bug, it is unlikely that you will recover. 

Here’s a real world example.  It seems my friend Lakeitha was shopping the Goodwill, and she was struck by a sudden case of what shall now be dubbed ‘Goodwill Stashing’.  Allow me to illustrate.  The conversation began like this. 

To which I replied,

Quickly more chimed in.

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